EMCC's Buddy Stephens earns Spalding® NJCAA Football Coach of the Year honor
The NJCAA national office announced Buddy Stephens of East Mississippi Community College as the 2014 Spalding® NJCAA Football Coach of the Year as presented by the NJCAA Football Coaches Association.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The NJCAA national office announced Buddy Stephens of East Mississippi Community College as the 2014 Spalding® NJCAA Football Coach of the Year as presented by the NJCAA Football Coaches Association.
"I'm extremely honored and humbled to accept this award on behalf of our outstanding coaching staff at East Mississippi Community College," Stephens said. "This award is a product of the collective efforts of all of my assistant coaches, our school administration at EMCC, campus faculty and support staff personnel, so the recognition expressed by our NJCAA coaching peers is especially rewarding."
Stephens directed the EMCC Lions to an unprecedented third NJCAA championship in four years in 2014, having claimed the title in 2011 and 2013. East Mississippi is just the third program to win back-to-back outright titles and the first to do so since Butler (Kan.) won consecutive championships in 1998 and 1999.
After seven years at the EMCC football helm in Scooba, Stephens boasts a 68-10 record and is tied for 10th among active NJCAA coaches for most wins. He is the second-winningest active NJCAA coach with a .872 winning percentage and is quickly approaching the top man on that list, Butler's Troy Morrell.
Earning his second honor in a week, Stephens became the first two-time winner of the American Community College Football Coaches Association (ACCFCA) Coach of the Year award Thursday.
This marks the second year that Spalding® – the official football of the NJCAA – has recognized the nation's top head coach. Georgia Military's Bert Williams received the inaugural honor in 2013.
"I'm very grateful to follow in the distinguished footsteps of last year's inaugural winner, Coach Bert Williams of Georgia Military College, with whom all of us throughout the country have the utmost respect for," Stephens said.
"We're also very appreciative of the quality partnership and superb teamwork between the NJCAA and Spalding®. The NJCAA's tremendous efforts and Spalding's® top-notch products certainly make for an ideal partnership."
Entering the season as the top-ranked team in the country, the EMCC Lions met their expectations with a perfect 12-0 season. East Mississippi earned five victories over top 10 teams during the season, including – Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) as No. 3 and No. 10, No. 12 Jones County (Miss.), No. 5 Mississippi Gulf Coast and No. 2 Iowa Western for the national title.
Playing in the NJCAA Championship Game at the Mississippi Bowl for the second straight year, EMCC faced a grueling challenge against No. 2 Iowa Western – the only other program to win an NJCAA title since 2011. The Lions made an early statement by forcing five turnovers en route to 34-17 victory.
The Lions cruised through their nine-game regular season schedule, outscoring opponents 515-38. East Mississippi closed out the slate with five consecutive shutouts to finish 9-0 with their fourth straight MACJC North Division crown – sixth in Stephens' seven-year tenure. In the postseason, the Lions defeated Mississippi Gulf Coast 42-21 before beating Copiah-Lincoln 54-15 in the MACJC Championship Game for their fourth conference title.
For the second straight season, EMCC conquered opponents with a relentless defense. The Lions led the nation in scoring defense – giving up just 7.6 points per game – and ranked second with 198.1 yards allowed per game. Showcasing their playmaking abilities, East Mississippi ranked third in takeaways with 21 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries on the year.
The Lions defensive unit featured two NJCAA First Team All-America selections in sophomores Lorenzo Phillips and Demetrius Cain.
With NJCAA First Team All-America quarterback Chad Kelly behind center, Stephens once again boasted one of the nation's top offenses. East Mississippi's top-ranked passing attack averaged 365.1 yards per game through the air. The Lions ranked fourth in the nation in scoring – averaging 53.8 points per game – and fifth in total offense with 537.1 yards per game.
A sophomore, Kelly signed with Ole Miss for the opportunity to become Stephens' second former quarterback to start for the Rebels. Current Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace led EMCC to Stephens' first NJCAA championship in 2011. In the trenches, sophomore offensive lineman and Oklahoma signee Jamal Danley received second team All-America honors.
In 2001, Stephens began his NJCAA coaching career as an assistant at Pearl River (Miss.) Community College. After seven years with the Wildcats, he was brought on by East Mississippi as head coach in 2008.
A native of Huntsville, Ala., Stephens was a standout offensive lineman at Pearl River before moving on to NCAA Division II program Delta State. Stephens continued on as a graduate assistant with the Statesman after earning his bachelor's degree. He landed a full-time position at Louisiana-Monroe – where he would earn a master's degree in 1992 – before embarking on a successful high school coaching career in Alabama and Louisiana.